Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today said that the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3 has sparked global aspirations in Indian students.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, this is all the more evident that after the opening up of the Space sector by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in June 2020, the number of Space Startups sky-rocketed from merely 04 to 150 Startups and most of them being led by science students, researchers and entrepreneurs.

Dr Jitendra Singh was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the Science 20 (S20) Conference under the aegis of G20 on the topic “Disruptive Science for Innovative and Sustainable Development”, at Amity University, Noida.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, Startups are centres of novel innovations and essential for the growth of the nation and driven by the ideas of the Prime Minister Modi, Startup India, Standup India and Make in India will help transform India to even stronger economic power and contribute towards adding 1 trillion USD to our GDP each year.

“They generate jobs leading to a stronger and healthier economy. Start-ups encourage a pragmatic approach at the academic establishments further leading to large scale employment generation. It motivates students or researchers to put their ideas into practice by collaborating with the start-up, which more importantly help to develop means of economic expansion. India now stands 3^rd in terms of Startup ecosystem with almost 110 Unicorns,” he said, encouraging the universities to promote students’ tie-ups with the emerging Startups.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that there were just around 350 Startups before 2014, but after PM Modi gave the clarion call from the ramparts of the Red Fort in his Independence Day address and rolled out special Startup scheme in 2016, there has been a quantum jump with over 1.25 lakh Startups now and more than 110 Unicorns. Similarly, he added that in the Biotech sector, from 50 odd Startups in 2014, we now have 6,000 Biotech Startups.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, “It is the hard work and determination of scientists, researchers and scholars that India is now ranked amongst top 3 nations in terms of publications and 9^th in terms of Patents. India’s Global Innovation index has also seen significant improvement in the past years moving up the ladder from 81^st position to 40^th position,” he added.

“The Government of India has focussed on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in research and innovation to realise the global endeavours of India making the country Aatmanirbhar through Make in India and Make for the World philosophy. The Government is actively working towards deepening the reach of public-private partnerships to create timebound world-class infrastructure and attract private sector and institutional capital in infrastructure,” he said.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, India is now the world's fifth-largest economy and is counted among the top countries globally in the field of scientific research and even positioning itself among the top five nations in the field of space exploration.

“India has recently created history by becoming the first country to land on the south polar region of the lunar surface. With the launch of Aditya -1 which is the first space based Indian mission to study the Sun, India’s ambitious space exploration programme has left a clear message that we are one of the most scientifically advanced nations in the field of Space Science and Technology,” he said.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that the country has witnessed an exponential growth in Science and Technology during the last decade. He said, under the able leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, our progressive government is focusing on inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Referring to the upcoming G20 Summit in New Delhi later this week, Dr Jitendra Singh said that India’s G20 Presidency under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during the year 2022-2023 has aimed to be inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented and decisive.

“This G20 Presidency also heralds for India the start of ‘Amritkaal,’ a 25-year period commencing from the 75^th Anniversary of India’s Independence leading up to the centenary of its Independence,” he said.

Stating that science has been the driving force behind economic expansion and human progress, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the objective of S20 is to leverage scientific, technological, and intellectual interactions between nations, regions, and societies in order to address common problems and forge strong international alliances.

“With the disruptive changes happening all around the world, innovative science and technology needs to be encouraged to revolutionise lives and livelihoods in a world where 8 billion people are continually striving for a better life,” he said.

Dr Jitendra Singh lauded that the S20 Conference delves upon another important initiative of PM Modi, which is Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR).

"It is creating an enabling environment for the sharing of ideas and resources within the knowledge ecosystem through collaborating with communities by identifying their needs and problems and develop scientific and technological solutions,” he said.

The S&T Minister said that as a nation committed to democracy and multilateralism, India's presidency has set a significant milestone seeking practical global solutions for the benefit of all.

“The theme of India’s G20 Presidency embodies the idea of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ or ‘the world is one family,’ which is inspired from the Maha Upanishad, an old Sanskrit scripture. The S20 theme has truly and fundamentally highlighted the importance of all life and their interdependence on Earth and across the universe,” he said.

The S20 Conference covers the topics - Clean Energy for Greener Future, Universal Holistic Health, Science for Society & Culture, and Role of Media in Science and Culture.

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